Bedclothes support



y 1967 M.'J. G IBBONS, SR 3,317,932

BEDCLOTHES SUPPORT Filed May ll, 1966 INVENT OR.

MICHAEL J. GIBBONS,$R.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,317,932 BEDCLOTHES SUPPORT Michael J. Gibbons, Sr., 116 W. Thruston Blvd., Dayton, Ohio 45419 Filed May 11, 1966, Ser. No. 549,237 4 Claims. (Cl. 319) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention This invention relates to a device for holding the portion of the bedclothes which normally would rest on the feet above the surface of the bed so that they do not contact the feet of a person sleeping in the bed. Such a device is used in hospitals wherein the person using the bed has a foot injury, disease, burns, or any other reason that contact with the bedclothes is not desired. The invention can also be used in the home by persons who experience discomfort from the weight of the bedclothes resting on their feet.

Accordingly, an important object of this invention is to provide an improved bedclothes support wherein the support is held securely in position by the mattress, and more particularly to provide a bedclothes support of the aforesaid type which does not contact the bed in the area normally occupied by the feet.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bedclothes support which is simple in design and therefore inexpensive in cost, and further to provide a bedclothes support which can be used on substantially any bed and is adjustable to fit mattresses of difierent thickness.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved bedclothes support wherein the members which contact the top surface of the mattress are padded in case the contact is made therewith, and further to provide such a support which is made entirely of tubular plastic or metal for simple and inexpensive construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the bedclothes support is positioned on a bed;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view illustrating the manner in which the bedclothes support is mounted on a mattress;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bedclothes support separated from the mattress;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention showing an adjustable stabilizing arm; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation view partially in section showing the adjusting collar used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical bed 10 on which the bedclothes support 11 can be used. The bed 10 includes enclosed box springs 12 having the four legs 13 and the headboard 14 mounted rigidly 3,317,932 Patented May 9, 1967 thereon. The springs 12 support the mattress 15 in the usual manner and the upper surface 16 of the mattress 15 is covered with the blanket or bedclothes 20 also in the usual manner.

The bedclothes support 11 is held tightly in position by the horizontal base legs 21 which extend inwardly between the top surface 22 of the springs 12 and the lower surface 24 of the mattress 15, as shown in FIG. 2. The inner ends 25 of these legs are secured together by the inner cross members 27 so that the support 11 is clamped snugly in position between the mattress 15 and the springs 12. The other ends 28 of the base legs 21 are also tied together by the lower cross member 30, and the vertical side members 32 extend upwardly therefrom to a position well above the top surface 16 of the mattress 15. The upper end 35 of these side members is interconnected by the upper cross member 36 which provides rigidity to the structure.

The horizontal bedclothes support bars 38 extend horizontally from the junctures 40 between the upper cross member 36 and the side members 32, as shown in FIG. 4. The length of the support bars 38 is not critical although they must extend far enough forward .to hold the bedclothes 20 from contact with the feet. For example, the bedclothes 20 might rest on the feet of a short person if these support bars were not long enough.

The stabilizing arms 42 are an important part of the invention and each of them includes a first section 43 rigidly connected to the side bars 32 and extending outwardly therefrom parallel to the end 44 of the mattress 15, as shown in FIG. 1. The sec-0nd sections 45 of these stabilizing bars are integral with the first sections 43 and disposed at right angles thereto for contacting the top surface 16 of the mattress 15 to holds the support 11 in position. Accordingly, the stabilizing arms 42 are spaced above the base legs 21 a distance which is substantially equal to the thickness of the mattress so that there is snug engagement by both the base legs 21 and the stabilizing arms 42.

A tubular cover 47 of soft material may be placed over the ends of the second sect-ion 45 of the stabilizing arms 42 and secured in position by the drawstrings 48 so that the covers are held snugly in position. While the second sections of the stabilizing arms 42 are spaced a short distance from the side surfaces 50 of the mattress 15 and therefore do not normally interfere with the movement of the feetof a person using the bed 10, it is conceivable that contact between, the feet and the second sections might be possible when the person is getting into or out of the bed 10. Therefore, the covers 47 provide a soft outer surface for the second section 45 of the stabilizing arms 42 which might contact the feet.

In operation, the bedclothes support 11 is placed on the bed 10 prior to the bedclothes 20. The horizontal base legs 21 and the inner cross member 27 are fitted snugly between the mattress 15 and the box springs 12 so that the stabilizing arms 42 snugly engage the top surface 16 of the mattress 15 to hold the support 11 in place. The bedclothes 20 are then placed on the bed 10 over the support 11 so that the support bars 38 hold the bedclothes above the top surface of the bed in the area of the foot of the bed. The bedclothes 20 are held high enough above the surface 16 so that they do not normally contact the feet of a person lying in the bed 10.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 wherein the stabilizing arms 50 are adjustable to accommodate mattresses of different thickness. The first section 51 of the stabilizing arm 50 thus has an adjusting collar 52 on the end thereof and surrounding the side bars 32a for sliding movement in a vertical direction. The thumbscrew 54 has a threaded portion 55 which extends through a similarly threaded bore in tive to the bed and one embodiment of the invention provides an adjustable feature for accommodating matt-resses of different thickness. The supports are made entirely of tubular material for strength and low cost, and pads are provided for the stabilizing arms.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A support for bedclothes adapted for use on a mattress having a predetermined thickness and resting on a flat surface comprising, a pair of horizontal lower legs adapted to be inserted between the flat surface and the bottom of the mattress, a lower horizontal cross bar interconnecting said lower legs and having a length less than the width of the mattress so that said lower legs are held firmly between the mattress and the flat surface, a vertical member extending upwardly from one end of each of said lower legs to a position a preset distance above the top surface of the mattress, a horizontal stabilizing bar on each of said vertical members spaced above said lower legs a distance substantially equal to the predetermined thickness of the mattress for engaging the top surface of the mattress for holding said vertical members in position, said stabilizing bar means each having a first section connected to one of said vertical members and extending parallel to the end of the mattress toward the sides thereof and a second section on the outer end of said first section perpendicular thereto for engaging the top surface of the mattress, a pair of upper legs on the upper ends of said vertical members parallel to said lower legs for supporting the bedclothes, and an upper cross bar interconnecting said upper legs to provide rigidity to the support.

2. A bedclothes support as claimed in claim 1 wherein the entire support is constructed of tubular material.

3. A bedclothes support as claimed in claim 1 wherein soft tubular covers are provided on each of said second sections to protect against contact between said second sections and the feet of a person using the bed.

4. A bedclothes support as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stabilizing bar means are adjustably connected to said vertical members to accommodate mattresses of different thicknesses.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,589 6/1953 Cobb 5-3 19 2,674,750 4/1954 Moore 5319 2,891,257 6/1959 Posey 5-319 X 2,952,855 9/1960 Luti 5-327 X 2,986,747 6/ 1961 Posey 5-327 X 3,086,225 4/1963 Fillingim 5-327 3,261,034 1/1966 Bradley 5320 X DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SUPPORT FOR BEDCLOTHES ADAPTED FOR USE ON A MATTRESS HAVING A PREDETERMINED THICKNESS AND RESTING ON A FLAT SURFACE COMPRISING, A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL LOWER LEGS ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED BETWEEN THE FLAT SURFACE AND THE BOTTOM OF THE MATTRESS, A LOWER HORIZONTAL CROSS BAR INTERCONNECTING SAID LOWER LEGS AND HAVING A LENGTH LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE MATTRESS SO THAT SAID LOWER LEGS ARE HELD FIRMLY BETWEEN THE MATTRESS AND THE FLAT SURFACE, A VERTICAL MEMBER EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM ONE END OF EACH OF SAID LOWER LEGS TO A POSITION A PRESET DISTANCE ABOVE THE TOP SURFACE OF THE MATTRESS, A HORIZONTAL STABILIZING BAR ON EACH OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS SPACED ABOVE SAID LOWER LEGS A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE PREDETERMINED THICKNESS OF THE MATTRESS FOR ENGAGING THE TOP SURFACE OF THE MATTRESS FOR HOLDING SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS IN POSITION, SAID STABILIZING BAR MEANS EACH HAVING A FIRST SECTION CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS AND EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE END OF THE MATTRESS TOWARD THE SIDES THEREOF AND A SECOND SECTION ON THE OUTER END OF SAID FIRST SECTION PERPENDICULAR THERETO FOR ENGAGING THE TOP SURFACE OF THE MATTRESS, A PAIR OF UPPER LEGS ON THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS PARALLEL TO SAID LOWER LEGS FOR SUPPORTING THE BEDCLOTHES, AND AN UPPER CROSS BAR INTERCONNECTING SAID UPPER LEGS TO PROVIDE RIGIDITY TO THE SUPPORT. 